Running gear for rail vehicles

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a running gear for rail vehicles, especially for passenger traffic, wherein a frame ( 1 ) is supported, by means of primary springs, on wheels or sets of wheels, and whereon a superstructure ( 5 ) is supported, optionally with insertion of a bolster ( 4 ). The bolster ( 4 ) or the superstructure ( 5 ) is supported by means of secondary springs, in relation to the frame ( 1 ), on at least one spring carrier ( 2 ), the bolster ( 4 ) or the superstructure ( 5 ) is connected to the frame ( 1 ) by means of a shock absorber used to damp vertical and/or rolling movements, and the spring carrier ( 2 ) is suspended on the frame by means of pendulums ( 3 ). The fixing points of the pendulums ( 3 ) on the running gear frame ( 1 ) are inwardly staggered, unlike vertically arranged pendulums, in such a way that the longitudinal axes of the pendulums ( 3 ) extend diagonally. At least one active control element ( 7 ) is at least partially arranged in the horizontal direction between the frame ( 1 ) and the spring carrier ( 2 ) or between the fame ( 1 ) and the bolster ( 4 ), in such a way that it supports the effect of the centrifugal force and adjusts the incline to an optimum value.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a running gear for rail vehicles. Theinvention is suitable for, but not restricted to, use in rail vehiclesfor passenger traffic.

2. Description of the Related Art

EP 0 621 165 B1 describes a running gear for rail vehicles in which arunning gear frame is carried via primary springs by the wheels or wheelsets and on which, via secondary springs, the car body of the railvehicle is supported car via a rocker or directly. The rocker or the carbody are connected with respect to the running gear frame by means ofshock absorbers damping vertical and rolling movements and by means ofat least one rolling support absorbing rolling movements. The latterbears fixed levers which are connected to the rocker or to the car bodyvia pendulum elements mounted in an articulated fashion. At least one ofthe pendulum elements consists of an actuator which can be acted on inthe opposite direction when one transverse end of the rocker or the carbody dips or rises. A disadvantage here is that, already at relativelylow speed in the curve, an unfavourably high transverse accelerationoccurs. In order to avoid this, the speed in the curve must be reducedso that the travelling comfort for passengers does not deteriorate, forexample.

A number of other known applications for intellectual property rightsmay resemble the solution according to the invention in some details buthave significant disadvantages with respect to the latter. Examples ofthis are as follows:

According to DE 1 145 738 the inclination technology is arranged abovethe secondary spring so that, when travelling through curves, thecomplete transverse acceleration must be intercepted in the secondarysuspension In addition, the inclination movement is not supported by thecentrifugal force which acts during travelling through curves;

According to EP 0 287 821, the pendulums are arranged parallel to thesecondary spring suspension which results in vertical decoupling ofspring movement and inclination. Thus, the air springs, which arearranged laterally as usual, must execute the complete inclinationmovement which requires a suitable volume and space requirement of theair springs associated therewith as well as a pressure compensatingdevice;

According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,104, vertical pendulums are providedwhich represent a fundamentally unstable arrangement which requiresadditional spring elements or active control elements. In addition,during travelling through curves, the inclination movement is notsupported by the centrifugal force but, on the contrary, the actuatorsmust work against the centrifugal force and in addition the centeringsprings. Furthermore, the rolling pole located under the vehicle floorresults in large transverse movements at the level of the rows of seatswhich is generally perceived as unpleasant by passengers, as well as theneed for a severely restricted clearance profile of the car body.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to eliminate the disadvantages of theprior art which have been described and, in particular, to propose arunning gear for rail vehicles which allows higher speeds in curves. Itis further the object of the invention to enhance comfort and to allowable adaptability of existing running gears.

This object is solved by a running gear for rail vehicles according tothe features of claim 1.

One advantage of the solution according to the invention is that, byinclining the car body, the passenger does not experience any greatertransverse acceleration despite higher speed. This results in enhancedcomfort. In the solution according to the invention, the centrifugalforce brings about the inclination of the car body. Thus, only smalladjusting forces are required to adjust the inclination to the optimumextent. A further advantage is that existing running gears can beadapted at little expense.

In the running gear according to the invention, it is provided that thefixing points of the pendulums on the running gear frame, unlike withvertically arranged pendulums, are inwardly staggered in such a way thatthe longitudinal axes of the pendulums extend obliquely inwards frombottom to top when the car body is not inclined. Furthermore, at leastone active control element is arranged between the running gear frameand the spring carrier or between the running gear frame and the rocker.In this case, it is aligned at least partly, but preferablypredominantly, in the horizontal direction, wherein it supports theaction of the centrifugal force and adjusts the inclination to anoptimum extent

The pendulums are preferably arranged in such a way that thelongitudinal axes of the pendulums intersect at least approximately atthe height of the center of gravity of the car or above the center ofgravity of the car when the car body is not inclined. A particularlyfavorable inclination characteristic is obtained as a result.

Furthermore, at least one passive and/or active damping member ispreferably arranged transverse to the direction of travel. Furtherpreferably, at least one damping member is arranged between the runninggear frame and the rocker, said damping member preferably being alaterally acting damper which can be adjusted dynamically depending onthe transverse speed of the car body.

In an especially advantageous variant of the running gear according tothe invention, which has a simple structure and works reliably, at leastone pendulum, each, is arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axisof the rail vehicle. At the same time, the pendulums are preferablyarranged symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the rail vehicle.

In further preferred variants of the running gear according to theinvention, the at least one active control element is an electrical,hydraulic and/or pneumatic control drive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further preferred embodiments of the invention are obtained from thedependent clams or the following description of a preferred embodiment,respectively, which refers to the appended drawings. It is shown in (notto scale)

FIG. 1 a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the running gearaccording to the invention in side view,

FIG. 2 a schematic section A-A through the running gear according toFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a schematic section B-B through the running gear according toFIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The FIGS. 1 to 3 show a running gear of a rail vehicle in differentviews. The running gear comprises a frame 1 which is supported viaprimary springs on wheels set. A spring carrier 2 is affixed on therunning gear frame 1 by means of pendulums 3. The spring carrier 2supports a rocker 4 with a car body 5 positioned thereon by means ofsecondary helical springs 6.

In a rail curve, the centrifugal force brings about a transversedisplacement of the car body 5, the rocker 4 and, via the transverserigidity of the secondary helical springs 6, also of the spring carrier2.

An increase in the speed of travel in a curve results in an increase inthe transverse acceleration acting on a passenger. However, this shouldnot exceed a limit of, for example, 1.2 m/s2. So that this limit is notexceeded despite increasing the speed of travel, the car body must beinclined in such a way that the transverse acceleration is reduced belowthe limit.

For this purpose, the upper fixing point of the suspended pendulums 3 onthe running gear frame 1 is inwardly staggered in contrast to verticallyarranged pendulums. This results in an oblique position of the pendulums3. Hereby, the system of the spring carrier 2, including the componentsrocker 4 and car body 5 positioned thereon, can be inclined. As a resultof being suspended on oblique pendulums 3, the spring carrier 2 and, atthe same time, the rocker 4 and the car body 5 are rotated about theirlongitudinal axes. Thus, a passenger is not exposed to any greatertransverse acceleration despite higher curve speed.

One or more active control elements 7 support the action of thecentrifugal force and adjust the inclination to an optimum extent Theseactive control elements 7 are inserted in a predominantly horizontaldirection either between the running gear fame 1 and the spring carrier2 or between the running gear frame 1 and the rocker 4. In thisembodiment the optimum inclination of the car body 5, which mainlyresults from the transverse acceleration of the car body 5, is adjustedby two active control elements 7 laterally acting between the runninggear frame 1 and the spring carrier 2, which bring about thecorresponding additional or reduced inclination of the car body 5 withrespect to the inclination resulting from the transverse acceleration.

In addition to the active control elements 7, passive or active dampingmembers can be incorporated to improve comfort. For example, in additionto enhancing comfort, the dynamic components of the car body transversemovement can be damped by inserting a laterally acting damper, arrangedbetween the running gear frame 1 and the rocker 4, which can be adjusteddynamically depending on the transverse velocity of the car body or thetransverse acceleration of the car body.

1. Running gear for rail vehicles, wherein: a running gear frame issupported via primary springs on wheels or wheel sets, and whereon a carbody is supported, directly or via a cradle, the cradle or the car bodyis supported, in relation to the running gear frame, via secondarysprings on at least one spring carrier, the rocker or the car body isconnected to the running gear frame by means of shock absorbers dampingvertical or rolling movements, the spring carrier is supported on therunning gear frame by means of hangers, the fixing points of the hangerson the running gear frame, contrary to vertically arranged hangers, areinwardly displaced in such a way that longitudinal axes of the hangersextend obliquely, and at least one active control element is at leastpartially, arranged in the horizontal direction between the running gearframe and the spring carrier or between the running gear frame and thecradle or car body, in such a way that the at least one active controlelement supports the effect of centrifugal force on the car body andadjusts an inclination thereof to an optimum value.
 2. The running gearaccording to claim 1, wherein the hangers are arranged in such a waythat the longitudinal axes of the hangers intersect at leastapproximately at the height of the center of gravity of the car or abovethe center of gravity of the car.
 3. The running gear according to claim1, wherein at least one passive or active damping member is arrangedtransverse to the direction of travel.
 4. The running gear according toclaim 1, wherein at least one laterally acting damper which can beadjusted dynamically depending on the transverse speed of the car body,is arranged between the running gear frame and the cradle car body. 5.The running gear according to claim 1, wherein at least one hangers,each, is arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the railvehicle, in particular symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of therail vehicle.
 6. The running gear according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one active control element is an electrical, hydraulic orpneumatic control drive.
 7. Running gear for a rail vehicle, comprising:a running gear frame; a spring carrier suspended by hangers from therunning gear frame, the fixing points of the hangers on the frame beinginwardly located with respect to the fixing points of the hangers on thespring carrier such that the spring carrier can be inclined with respectto the frame; a car body supported via secondary springs on the springcarrier and connected to the running gear frame by means of shockabsorbers damping vertical or rolling movements; and at least one firstactive control element arranged substantially in the horizontaldirection between the frame and the spring carrier to support the effectof the centrifugal force on the car body and adjust an inclination ofthe spring carrier to an optimum value.
 8. The running gear according toclaim 7, wherein the hangers are arranged such that their longitudinalaxes intersect at a position adjacent to the center of gravity of thecar body.
 9. The running gear according to claim 7, wherein at least onepassive damping member is arranged to damp movement of the car bodytransverse to the direction of travel.
 10. The running gear according toclaim 7, wherein at least one active damping member is arranged to dampmovement of the car body transverse to the direction of travel.
 11. Therunning gear according to claim 7, wherein a laterally acting damperwhich can be adjusted dynamically depending on the transverse speed ofthe car body, is arranged between the running gear frame and the carbody.
 12. The running gear according to claim 7, wherein the hangers arearranged in symmetrical pairs on either side of the longitudinal axis ofthe rail vehicle.
 13. The running gear according to claim 7, wherein theactive control element is an electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic controldrive.
 14. The running gear according to claim 7, wherein the car bodycomprises a cradle and the secondary springs act on the cradle.
 15. Therunning gear according to claim 11, wherein the car body comprises acradle and the laterally acting damper acts on the cradle.